Children from the 145-student Ets Chiyim School in Montgomery Village, Md., were not visiting Washington's National Zoo, a 35-minute drive away. Rather, they walked through the fluorescent-lit, merchandise-laden aisles of a local Petco, a San Diego, Calif.-based pet-store chain with 690 locations nationwide. Ets Chiyim is one of a growing number of public and private schools whose students have taken "retail" field trips to outlets such as Petco, Sports Authority, Winn-Dixie, and Saturn. Until recently, students could also take field trips to Toys R Us stores. The national toy seller, which has suffered major financial losses, withdrew funding for the trips this year. In this article, the author talks about the advantages and disadvantages of the new breed of retail field trips that is emerging. These field trips are tied to national education standards, are free to schools, and even help strengthen community bonds. However, critics counter that such field trips are nothing more than a savvy and aggressive marketing ploy disguised as education to get students and their families to buy the participating stores' products. The author discusses the actions taken by retailers to get schools to participate in retail field trips.